Britishisims: To use or not to use?

Also, as a somewhat related addendum, I've run into the specific issue of french fry types. Do they call steak and shoestring fries steak and shoestring "chips" in England? I sound very silly to myself when I type those things.

Chips are just chips. What are steak and shoestring fries?

I don't know what steak or shoestring fries are. Do you mean chunky chips and curly fries?

It never occurred to me to have different names for different chips beyond thick, thin and curly.

I say go with chips in dialogue, but keep the narration consistent in vocabulary.

One thing though, in terms of chips, I have found a great variety in Britain (remember, Britain is not England) in the north, a pot of gravy or mushy peas is considered very good with chips, less so in the south. Though I think they use mayonnaise, or some such degenerate thing. In the north you can also get a pot of curry sauce with chips. But I think they said on the radio that this is more popular in Wales.

I usually have curry with my chips, and I've been in Wales half a decade. So that may be true. Anyway, if chips play a big part in the story, it may be worth thinking about what condiment he'd be likely to want with them. Or maybe not, given that it's a science fiction set in New Zealand. But, you never know.

T. Bread Sandwich
And all that.

Thank you both, especially for the shoestring comments! Yes, here in the Great and Complicated Land of the US, we have steak fries which are the thick kind, curly fries, which are, yes, curly (and usually seasoned with the delicious and terrible-for-you orange salty stuff), as well as a diner staple called shoestring fries, which are straight but very skinny.

Still haven't quite made up my mind as far as more generalized things go. Probably a more prominent example would be that of the "apartment" vs. "flat" issue. Both characters would be using "flat" in dialogue, so I would conclude that it would be best to carry that over into the narration. Which is where the weirdness begins (endless downward spiral of "well, if I change that, I should change this, blah blah not getting me any more words but distracting to the point of frustration").

Thanks again, I appreciate the feedback!

LMAO! mayo is just wrong. gravy or curry all the way! (and I'm from north west england originally so it's not just wales)

I know the only time I ever use the word 'fries' is when I'm on about a McDonald's meal or 'curly fries' to mean the twisty seasoned ones.

Well, i'm English and i live in New Zealand and i think i would actually say apartment not flat. To me it depends on the type of building it is. Modern (as most in NZ are) is an apartment. Older tower blocks in England i would call flats.
In New Zealand though i have noticed that there is a huge diversity in language, some Kiwis are very English and some very American.
If your English character has been in NZ for a little while then he/she would probably pick up on some of the words the locals use, i've been here a year and i have started using new words such as "mall" rather than "shopping centre".

I don't know if that helps at all. I'm just procrastinating :)

That helps immensely, actually, Lula. Fletcher has just moved from London at the beginning of the year, but my other main character is a full-blown Kiwi. Also, I'm pretty sure I can get away with fudging most of the things with it being 90 years in the future and after a great world-changing event :)

Thanks again everyone for all the tips!

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ML, Saskatoon
Canadian Overlord

The Book of Tim

Hello Caity, I've just one thing to add, whatever term you use, be consistent. IA good way of differentiating between characters is to have one use British terminology - 'boot' for 'hood', 'lift' for 'elevator' 'sidewalk' for 'pavement' - so, just make sure the same character uses the same term if it re-occurs.

MJ

Personally, I would think that the changes in slang in the next 90 years would be greater than the current differences between American and British English... If the proliferation of the internet and television continues, new words are likely to be picked up by people in widely diverse locations rapidly.

In my opinion, even if you're writing from third person, it's best to write the character in proper context; that is, since your POV-character is British, write Britishisms. It'll take practice and a lot of googling - and some creativity on your part to decide how far Americanisms have spread to New Zealand by 2099 (worldbuilding is fun!) - but making your character's cultural baggage consistent with what you've told the audience is one of the staples of continuity, and a mark of excellent writing, at least in my books.

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Off topic I know, but I'm from London and I have eaten my chips with gravy my whole life.